The Plague of the 21st Century 
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Kaylee D. Griffin
Ms. Bramlett
AP English III 2nd
4 February 2015
The Plague of the 21st Century
Rape.
As I say that, I guarantee that if I were to take a head count based on the amount of students in a class, I would find at least 5 people that shuffled their eyes around the room in search for someone that shared the same sense of discomfort as they were feeling; I’d notice some anxious fidgeting amongst the seats; and I’d realise that majority of the eye contact that was once held with me is now shared with the back wall. Understandably so, I might add, considering while growing up, throughout all generations, we’re taught that the word “rape” belongs on the list of “fourlettered profanities” that we’re not to say, nor speak of, in public. In today’s society, it’s viewed as a heinous, yet almost mythological concept that while growing up
(specifically girls) are warned to take preventative measures against. But as most teens do, we feel a lack of vulnerability, or even invincibility, against things that could really hurt us.
But why? We’re aware that it happens, we acknowledge the reality of it, and we can only begin to imagine how horrendous and traumatic of an experience it is, yet we continue to live with this mindset that it’s not as big of a deal as it’s made up to be, it really doesn’t happen that often, and that it’s not going to happen to me. But contrary to the majority’s belief, a statistic from RAINN (The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) confirms that every 107 seconds,
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another American is sexually assaulted. The consistent disbelief in this startling statistic is why I chose to focus on rape culture’s impact on our society.
Chances are, if you identify as, or associate with feminists and liberalminded people, you’ve more than likely heard the term “rape culture”. But how many people really know what rape culture looks like? After reading article after article scrolling endless comments,
Kaylee D. Griffin
Ms. Bramlett
AP English III 2nd
4 February 2015
The Plague of the 21st Century
Rape.
As I say that, I guarantee that if I were to take a head count based on the amount of students in a class, I would find at least 5 people that shuffled their eyes around the room in search for someone that shared the same sense of discomfort as they were feeling; I’d notice some anxious fidgeting amongst the seats; and I’d realise that majority of the eye contact that was once held with me is now shared with the back wall. Understandably so, I might add, considering while growing up, throughout all generations, we’re taught that the word “rape” belongs on the list of “fourlettered profanities” that we’re not to say, nor speak of, in public. In today’s society, it’s viewed as a heinous, yet almost mythological concept that while growing up
(specifically girls) are warned to take preventative measures against. But as most teens do, we feel a lack of vulnerability, or even invincibility, against things that could really hurt us.
But why? We’re aware that it happens, we acknowledge the reality of it, and we can only begin to imagine how horrendous and traumatic of an experience it is, yet we continue to live with this mindset that it’s not as big of a deal as it’s made up to be, it really doesn’t happen that often, and that it’s not going to happen to me. But contrary to the majority’s belief, a statistic from RAINN (The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) confirms that every 107 seconds,
Griffin1
another American is sexually assaulted. The consistent disbelief in this startling statistic is why I chose to focus on rape culture’s impact on our society.
Chances are, if you identify as, or associate with feminists and liberalminded people, you’ve more than likely heard the term “rape culture”. But how many people really know what rape culture looks like? After reading article after article scrolling endless comments,